10 Video Games We Would Love To See As Films – And How We Would Make Them

Silent Hill, Tekken, Prince of Persia, Max Payne. What do all these films share in common? That’s right, they’re all s**t. They also happen to be based on some of the best video games ever made, so to turn a treasured icon into a heaping pile of dung is immoral, unjustified, and downright crude.

With Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed being recently announced, and Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender being attached to each project respectively, things could finally be looking up for film adaptations of our favourite pieces of sofa entertainment software.

As a result, we decided to think of other films that deserve a shot at the big screen, but we’re not talking about stealing the name, and then attaching it to some ludicrous plot that has nothing to do with the original franchise. No. We want to keep the story exactly how it is in the game, but want to present our own suggestions for directors, stars and a tagline, as well as providing an overview of the plot for those filmmakers that seem to forget.

We’re sure some of our decisions are going to frustrate, confuse, or anger, so make sure to sound off your disagreements and agreements in the comments below! We’d love to hear your suggestions too. Now let’s get started!

1) METAL GEAR SOLID

OK, let’s face it. Metal Gear Solid is practically a film in itself, laden with cutscenes and narrative context. However, the premise for the game would be a perfect fit for the silver screen. We’ve got longevity in the hero, a plethora of terrorist opportunities to choose from, and a supporting cast to rival the greats of most action movies.

Director: Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight, Memento)

Solid Snake: Hugh Jackman

Roy Campbell: Alec Baldwin

Naomi Hunter: Monica Bellucci

Hugh Jackman as Solid Snake

Story: Solid Snake successfully infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility, only to find the terrorist threat belongs to a violent renegade militia known as FOXHOUND. Snake’s task is to rescue the hostages on board, the head of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), and a CEO of an arms manufacturer, as well as stopping the group from launching a nuclear strike.

Tagline: War Changes. Our Heroes Stay Solid.

2) GRAND THEFT AUTO

Some feel that the latest entry in the series moved away from the tongue in cheek nature of previous iterations, whilst others found the serious tone more grounded and refreshing. There’s no denying that Grand Theft Auto IV contains some excellent and intriguing characters, with a fantastic world to boot, therefore we feel it makes a strong case for a blockbuster film.

Director: David Ayer (End of Watch, Street Kings)

Niko Bellic: Vladimir Mashkov

Bruce Kibbutz: Steve-O

Packie McReary: Colin Farrell

Vladimir Mashkov as Niko Bellic

Story: Niko comes to the USA in search of the American Dream, on advice of his cousin, Roman. However, he quickly becomes entangled with gangs, crime and other corrupt individuals, with his task to get out of the business as quickly as possible. Eventually, his history with an Eastern European conflict comes back to haunt him, and he must deal with his inner demons, whilst trying to make sense of what the ‘American Dream’ really is.

Tagline: Liberty City. Where true freedom awaits.

3) HALO

Why this film has not yet been made is baffling. There was originally a producer attached with Peter Jackson, who then walked away from the project. Then it was rumoured Neill Blomkamp would take the helm as director, but no progress was made. Even Steven Spielberg has expressed interest in the space-faring epic. There’s a plethora of Youtube videos that attempt to capitalise on the green armoured hero, most recently with Forward Unto Dawn, which was an excellent series that showed there’s character underneath the helm. Let’s get it made already!

Director: Peter Jackson or Neill Blomkamp (The Lord of The Rings, District 9)

Story: Set in the 26th Century, the film would focus on the story of Master Chief and his crash landing on an unknown construct, simply labelled as Halo. Master Chief would work to uncover the secrets of the ring, whilst flashbacks to his early childhood would allow fans to gain a more human perspective of John, the man behind the suit.

Tagline: The Battle For Humanity Comes Full Circle.

4) GEARS OF WAR

Another game perfect for the big screen, Gears of War is full of bromance, explosions, and Epic one-liners with a capital ‘E’. Again, this is another project that was greenlit a while back, but could never get into full gear. Apparently, Stuart Beattie, who worked on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, has developed a script, but with Cliff Bleszinski no longer tied to Epic Games, it’s unknown whether the battle against the locust will come to a cinema near you. In the meantime, here’s how we would do things…

Director: Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, E.T.)

Marcus Fenix: Dave Bautista

Dominic Santiago: Mario Lopez

Augustus Cole: Terry Tate

Damon Baird: Paul Walker

Dave Bautista as Marcus Fenix

Story: Our four unlikely heroes form up the crew of Delta Squad, and follows their journey across Sera as they attempt to save humanity from an unstoppable horde of locust. The film would switch between the present day, and the past, where Marcus and Dom’s relationship could be explored in more detail, as well as showing accounts of Marcus’ time in prison.

Tagline: They started as a team. They will end it as brothers.

5) RESIDENT EVIL

“Wait, this has already been made as a film,” I hear you cry! Correct, but that film, whilst watchable, was in no way homage to the original classic on Playstation. Resident Evil is, and should always be, a survival horror game that contains some of the greatest scares known to man, not a martial arts action B-Movie. So lets rewind, pretend the film never happened, and produce it as the following:

Director: Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Prometheus)

Chris Redfield: Matt Damon

Jill Valentine: Cobie Smulders

Barry Burton: Bryan Cranston

Albert Wesker: Christian Bale

Matt Damon as Chris Redfield

Story: Forget Alice. This film takes place in the mansion that made the first game so iconic. After Alpha Team take refuge in a nearby mansion after coming under assault from rabid dogs, they begin the search for Bravo Team. Whilst searching for Bravo, the group find documents linking atrocious experiments that took place in the mansion to a corporation known as Umbrella. It’s the team’s objective to escape the mansion, and uncover the experiments to the world.

Tagline: Horror has become a virus. Survival is the antidote.

6) FINAL FANTASY VII

Arguably one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time, Final Fantasy VII manages to pack in every emotion and practically covers ever genre possible. Done well, Final Fantasy VII could be one of the greatest films of all time. Done poorly, and the franchise could be ruined for eternity. The themes it explores however are still relevant to the modern era, perhaps even more so than ever, and that’s why we feel it deserves a place on the big screen.

Director: Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of The Southern Wild)

Cloud: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (With spiky blonde hair obviously)

Barrett: Mr. T

Tifa Lockheart: Natalie Portman

Aerith Gainsborough: Jewel Staite

Jewel Staite as Aerith Gainsborough

Story: Whilst the main plot would focus on the story of Cloud, as he turns from young adult into fully-fledged hero, we would delve into the operations of AVALANCHE, the eco-terrorist organisation, and their plans to stop Shinra, a mega-corporation that controls most of the world’s businesses, as well as using the life of the planet to fuel their energy needs. Avatar anybody?

Tagline: Their world may be fantasy. Their actions are not.

7) RED DEAD REDEMPTION

My personal Rockstar favourite, Red Dead Redemption is a tale of love, family, and retribution, and beneath all the extreme violence and profanity, is a game woven with great care and packing a big heart. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Western to rival that of the old spaghetti classics, and we aren’t talking about pasta. With the dialogue and voice acting of the highest calibre, a script is already in place, and the cinematography is practically complete. Now to just transfer it over to film.

Director: The Coen Brothers (True Grit, The Big Lebowski)

John Marston: Josh Brolin

Bonnie MacFarlane: Naomi Watts

Josh Brolin as John Marston

Story: John Marston, a former outlaw, is tasked with hunting down his former gang members in order to be cleared of his charges and return to his family. The film tracks his journey as he seeks down each member, as well as detailing the relationships he establishes along the way.

Tagline: In order to achieve redemption, he must sin once more.

8) MASS EFFECT

Who wouldn’t want to see this as a film? Arguably one of the most epic games ever made, the trilogy doesn’t just focus on saving planet Earth, but the entire Galaxy, and as always, it’s down to just one man… or woman. In truth, with so many different choices and paths to take, as well as the gender of the protagonist being open to interpretation, any decisions made are certain to anger fans, but this could be countered by focusing on the First Contact War instead. A prequel would be a fantastic way of introducing those new to the Mass Effect universe, whilst giving long time fans an insight into what happened all those year ago.

Director: Matthew Vaughn (X:Men First Class, Stardust)

Commander Shepard: Matthew Fox

Kaiden Alenko: Eric Bana

Ashley Williams: Erica Cerra

Garrus Vakarian: Kiefer Sutherland

David Anderson: Keith David

Joker: Seth Green

Matthew Fox as Commander Shepard

Story: It’s the year 2183, and the crew of the SSV Normandy discover a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime, as well as an active Reaper, one of the machines that destroyed civilization over 50,000 years ago. Commander Shepard must recruit a team, and track down Saren, a turian Spectre who is being used as a pawn to help restart the return of the Reapers in order continue the cycle once more.

Tagline: Even the smallest decisions have the biggest effects.

9) DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

Perhaps one of my finest experiences with an RPG, Dragon Age: Origins is essentially Mass Effect but with swords and shields rather than FTL ships and laser rifles. Whilst opinion is usually split on which game is the more engaging, it’s universally known that both are excellent in their own right, and Dragon Age packs more lore than any encyclopaedia known to man. A terrible threat, a beautiful world, packed with conspiracy, lies and deceit, and you have the perfect recipe for a fantasy epic.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Alistair: Simon Woods

Morrigan: Angelina Jolie

Leliana: Karen Gillan

Oghren: John Rhys-Davies

Karen Gillan as Leliana

Story: Set in Ferelden, a fictional kingdom, the land is divided by civil disagreements, with no single leader to unite the lands. The Darkspawn, a species of creatures that live underground, plan to return to the surface once more in order to take it for their own. It’s up to a hero and his allies to stop the Blight, by uniting the lands against a common foe.

Tagline: They thought the Blight was over. They were wrong.

10) UNCHARTED

Need I explain my reasoning for this? Anyone who has stepped into the shoes of Nathan Drake will know that it’s impossible to find another game that matches the cinematic quality and blockbuster action of Naughty Dog’s world-faring adventure. As a result, its place on the big screen could be questionable, however, we’d like to see more time given to the character of Drake, as well as allow him some breathing space by including scenes that focus on character exposition. Not since Indiana Jones have we had a popcorn-munching feel-good action-epic, and we’re 100% confident that Drake himself is the man to complete the job.

Director: James Cameron

Nathan Drake: Gerard Butler

Elena Fisher: Emily Rose

Victor Sullivan: Harrison Ford

Gerard Butler as Nathan Drake

Story: Nathan Drake finds a diary written by his ancestor, Sir Frances Drake, pointing to the location of El Dorado, rumoured to be the city of gold, packed with unimaginable wealth. As he journeys to find the city, he runs into a range of troubles, including Gabriel Roman, a competitive treasure hunter who is tracking the same destination. Each must compete against the other, in order to find the fabled city first.

Editor for Only Single Player - Daniel likes Single Player experiences so much, he once locked himself in his room for a year without food or water to pay homage to the solo adventure. Now back from the dead, Daniel can often be found perusing over the latest developments within the industry, whilst celebrating after successfuly completing XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Classic Ironman. Suck on that aliens! You can also follow and harrass me on Twitter @DanMightyNuke. Let me know what you think of the solo experience!

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22 Comments

WOW! Great article. Time to hang up the video game journalism gig and move to Hollywood. Maybe you could keep them from creating anymore coat-hanger abortions that they try to pass off as video game inspired movies. I particularly enjoy the Gears of War idea. As my sole multiplayer (gasp) venture, I hold that game dear to my heart and really love your picks. Mario Lopez better beef up those biceps if he doesn&#039t want to get dwarfed by Marcus and Cole.

On a side note, I would love to see a Lost Odyssey or Indigo Prophecy movie. I won&#039t even attempt to pick out a cast, but as my favorite video game storylines, I think they would translate beautifully.

Indigo Prophecy is another fantastic game that deserves a film adaptation (although the ridiculous ending slightly ruined the overall experience). Maybe I should keep this as a running editorial, and add 10 more films sometime in the near future. Hmm…

I would really love to see a Gears of War film. I am don&#039t know if I could cope with a Dragon Age: Origins film, I feel like they would never get that right. I feel as thought it&#039s a bit like my feeling toward books, I hate film adaptations of classic literature because they never get it right, there is just too much content.

I would like to see a Prince of Persia film actually based on Sands of Time for PS2 (and what ever other platforms it was on at the time), I loved that game when I was younger and when they ruined it with that god awful film I was heart broken.

As we know Mass Effect is in the pipeline I will go on a bit about that. I would LOVE to see FemShep rather than MShep. For me, she was just such a strong female character, off the top of my head I can&#039t really think of any films with a character quite like her. But I know we are not going to get one. But because it will be an MShep it surprises me you left Liara out of the cast list, she will undoubtedly be the LI, they won&#039t be able to make a Mass Effect film without Shepard banging an alien. In fact, I think Erica Cerra would make a better Liara than she would Ashley, she has a very pretty face and would pull off the blue tentacle head well. I actually read an interesting thing on Tumblr where someone had suggested that if Liara was going to be the LI then maybe have a bit of a romance between Ashley and Kaidan, because you know, Virmire would really suck. I thought that was a pretty good idea for Ashley and Kaidan in game fans, so their LI weren&#039t just background characters. As for Eric Bana he&#039s too old for Kaidan Alenko, I would like to see someone like Jesse Metcalfe or Penn Badgley. Maybe Charlotte Riley for Ashley Williams.

I knew it was going to be awful from the moment I heard that Jake Gyllenhaal was going to be playing the Prince. The clue is in the title guys – The Prince of PERSIA! Persia is present day Iran so why have you got some white American not remotely Asian looking guy playing the lead?

I found the 2008 story line pretty unforgettable, because I don&#039t actually remember what happened in it and that&#039s not like me. Being 13 and a girl when Sands of Time came out it made a pretty big impression on me Farrah was amazing, fought for herself and took no s**t from the Prince. I just remember the 2008 girl being annoying and getting in the way all the bloody time. I remember the gameplay being quite repetitive too, but maybe I just need to give the game another shot. Visually a film would be pretty impressive.

Yes! Dead Space would be awesome! It would combine too things the film industry is severely lacking in at the moment, a good game-film adaptation and a good scary film. I can&#039t remember that last time I saw a scary film that actually impressed me!

WOW! Great article. Time to hang up the video game journalism gig and move to Hollywood. Maybe you could keep them from creating anymore coat-hanger abortions that they try to pass off as video game inspired movies. I particularly enjoy the Gears of War idea. As my sole multiplayer (gasp) venture, I hold that game dear to my heart and really love your picks. Mario Lopez better beef up those biceps if he doesn't want to get dwarfed by Marcus and Cole.

On a side note, I would love to see a Lost Odyssey or Indigo Prophecy movie. I won't even attempt to pick out a cast, but as my favorite video game storylines, I think they would translate beautifully.

Indigo Prophecy is another fantastic game that deserves a film adaptation (although the ridiculous ending slightly ruined the overall experience). Maybe I should keep this as a running editorial, and add 10 more films sometime in the near future. Hmm…

I would really love to see a Gears of War film. I am don't know if I could cope with a Dragon Age: Origins film, I feel like they would never get that right. I feel as thought it's a bit like my feeling toward books, I hate film adaptations of classic literature because they never get it right, there is just too much content.

I would like to see a Prince of Persia film actually based on Sands of Time for PS2 (and what ever other platforms it was on at the time), I loved that game when I was younger and when they ruined it with that god awful film I was heart broken.

As we know Mass Effect is in the pipeline I will go on a bit about that. I would LOVE to see FemShep rather than MShep. For me, she was just such a strong female character, off the top of my head I can't really think of any films with a character quite like her. But I know we are not going to get one. But because it will be an MShep it surprises me you left Liara out of the cast list, she will undoubtedly be the LI, they won't be able to make a Mass Effect film without Shepard banging an alien. In fact, I think Erica Cerra would make a better Liara than she would Ashley, she has a very pretty face and would pull off the blue tentacle head well. I actually read an interesting thing on Tumblr where someone had suggested that if Liara was going to be the LI then maybe have a bit of a romance between Ashley and Kaidan, because you know, Virmire would really suck. I thought that was a pretty good idea for Ashley and Kaidan in game fans, so their LI weren't just background characters. As for Eric Bana he's too old for Kaidan Alenko, I would like to see someone like Jesse Metcalfe or Penn Badgley. Maybe Charlotte Riley for Ashley Williams.

I knew it was going to be awful from the moment I heard that Jake Gyllenhaal was going to be playing the Prince. The clue is in the title guys – The Prince of PERSIA! Persia is present day Iran so why have you got some white American not remotely Asian looking guy playing the lead?

I found the 2008 story line pretty unforgettable, because I don't actually remember what happened in it and that's not like me. Being 13 and a girl when Sands of Time came out it made a pretty big impression on me Farrah was amazing, fought for herself and took no s**t from the Prince. I just remember the 2008 girl being annoying and getting in the way all the bloody time. I remember the gameplay being quite repetitive too, but maybe I just need to give the game another shot. Visually a film would be pretty impressive.

Yes! Dead Space would be awesome! It would combine too things the film industry is severely lacking in at the moment, a good game-film adaptation and a good scary film. I can't remember that last time I saw a scary film that actually impressed me!

Hugh Jackman as Snake, Matt Damon as Chris Redfield, Gerard Butler as Nathan Drake… give up writing about games Daniel Martyniuk. You need to be making these movies happen. GREAT list, and excellent casting choices. Bravo.

Thanks a lot for your support! Before i read the end of your comment I thought you were going to assault me for my choices, glad to hear you agree! Are there any you disagree with, or any other games you&#039d like me to turn into films? Let me know!

Hugh Jackman as Snake, Matt Damon as Chris Redfield, Gerard Butler as Nathan Drake… give up writing about games Daniel Martyniuk. You need to be making these movies happen. GREAT list, and excellent casting choices. Bravo.

Thanks a lot for your support! Before i read the end of your comment I thought you were going to assault me for my choices, glad to hear you agree! Are there any you disagree with, or any other games you'd like me to turn into films? Let me know!